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TTD in a dilemma over its temple at Rajahmundry

By Our Staff Reporter

TIRUPATI Aug. 11. The temple of Lord Venkateswara, set up by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) at the Godavari ghats in Rajahmundry, will also be remembered on par with the Pushkarams that came to a grand end on Sunday. Though the temple is a makeshift one got up for the special occasion, it was received well by locals and the visiting devotees as well.

Now, the question of whether to continue the structure or do away with it stares at the face of the TTD management. The TTD is more than convinced that the continuance of the temple at Rajahmundry had the inherent danger of being viewed by the common man as a parallel to or an extension of the Tirumala shrine. As a matter of fact, the TTD does not favour constructing temples akin to the Tirumala shrine anywhere else, as the Lord at Tirumala is believed and worshipped as invincible and unique.

Bogged down with these facts, the TTD has, however, decided to hand the structure over to some local temple trusts interested in running it provided `the TTD mark is not used nor the mention of Tirumala is made.' The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) has approached the TTD for modification of the structure to house a Radha Govinda mandir in its own inimitable style. While the TTD is yet to react to the proposal, it is not averse to more such offers from other trustworthy institutions. When asked to comment, the TTD's Executive Officer, Ajeya Kallam, said that such offers would be placed before the TTD Trust Board for a comprehensive discussion of the pros and cons.

TTD nets Rs. 30 lakhs

Meanwhile, the TTD earned Rs. 30 lakhs during the Pushkarams. As most of the activities were taken up with a service motive and hence grossly subsidised, the revenue was not commensurate with the expenditure of Rs.50 lakhs made on the occasion. It may be noted that the TTD had deputed a 350-strong team, led by its Joint Executive Officer, R. Appa Rao, to monitor the arrangements.

While the `Hundi' set up at the Balaji mandir in Rajahmundry fetched Rs. 10.25 lakhs, the sale of religious books on a huge discount fetched it Rs.5.28 lakhs. Over 11,000 big laddus, each costing Rs.77 and 15,000 small ones costing Rs.10, were sold on the occasion.

The RTC's Tirupati region operated 193 special trips to Rajahmundry from all its depots.

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